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The cost of higher education, and how to finance that education, is one of the biggest unknowns for many students.
For those attending a college or university outside their home city or town, it can feel even more daunting.
With so many personal and academic variables affecting students’ eligibility for financial aid, there’s a tremendous responsibility for higher ed institutions to provide clarity, transparency, and assistance.
How your institution communicates affordability can be the difference between a student applying or walking away.
For higher ed marketers, clarity around tuition and financial aid isn’t just a service—it’s a recruitment strategy.
Beyond a one-on-one conversation with a student, here are seven effective and efficient ways colleges and universities can build trust and provide financial support information to a wide audience:
1. Put financial aid front and center on your website
If students and parents can’t easily find tuition and financial aid information, you’ve already lost their trust.
So, don’t bury this information under a generic "Help" menu.
Instead, offer a dedicated, easy-to-navigate, and up-to-date website section that focuses on tuition, living expenses, financial aid options (e.g., scholarships, grants, loans, work-study programs), and application instructions.
Tufts University’s Tuition and Aid section is clearly visible and accessible on its website’s top navigation menu.
It addresses affordability with a positive tone and offers centralized resources to answer many financial questions.
The webpages include not only basic information but also tools to estimate the cost of both education and living expenses, various types of financial aid, and details on how students can apply for aid.
From a marketing perspective, this signals that your institution takes affordability seriously and wants families to feel supported, not surprised.
Tufts University’s dedicated Tuition and Aid section is easily accessible from its website’s main navigation menu and provides information on estimated costs, funding, and financial aid applications
2. Use brochures as recruitment tools
In addition to a dedicated section on your website, a well-designed financial aid brochure—downloadable as a PDF and available in print—provides a high-level overview of affordability.
Brochures shouldn’t repeat your website; they should complement it by giving families a clear, confidence-building snapshot they can take with them.
Containing no more than two pages, a brochure should provide a brief summary of costs, financial support options, and aid eligibility.
The University of Pennsylvania’s downloadable financial aid brochure does a great job at providing "fast facts".
It summarizes financial aid at Penn, offering information on the general cost of attendance and how aid is determined, examples of what a financial aid package might look like across various family income levels, and contact information for its financial aid office.
Listed under "Financial Aid on the Go" in its Financial Aid section, the University of Pennsylvania offers a two-page financial support brochure in English and Spanish.
3. Include a financial aid glossary
To avoid muddying an already complex topic, keep in mind everyone’s varying levels of financial literacy.
Financial aid language can be intimidating. Words like "subsidized loan" or "expected family contribution" might make sense internally, but they leave many families puzzled.
So, steer clear of technical financial jargon and industry terms—unless you clearly explain what they mean; otherwise, students’ search for clarity will lead to confusion.
A glossary helps demystify the process.
Use it to explain federal, regional, and school-specific tuition and financial aid terms.
Washington State University’s (WSU) Glossary of Financial Aid Terms presents very clear and concise written definitions of many financial terms.
Using "accordion" or "collapsible" menus, WSU manages to keep its glossary page clean and clutter-free. This allows readers to expand only the terms they want to read so they don’t need to sift through mountains of text.
Washington State University’s glossary page keeps its long list of financial aid terms tidy by using "expandable" and "collapsible" definitions to keep the page clutter-free
From a marketing standpoint, a glossary is more than a resource—it’s a trust signal. It shows your institution understands that not all families have the same financial literacy and that you’re committed to clarity.
4. Equip students with interactive cost calculators
Cost calculators are one of the most effective tools to manage expectations.
Families can plug in their information and move from vague estimates to personalized transparency.
The University of Southern California (USC) offers two interactive financial aid calculators to estimate the costs of tuition and associated expenses, and to determine eligibility for various types of financial aid.
- MyinTuition Quick College Cost Estimator is a simplified calculator that serves as a quick starting point. It generates an estimate by asking a handful of basic financial questions, and is designed to help determine the costs for one year at USC.
- USC Net Price Calculator is an in-depth tool that provides a more detailed look at your eligibility for financial aid and the potential net cost (after factoring in any financial aid).
The University of Southern California’s Net Price Calculator provides an estimate of students’ financial aid eligibility and the net price after grants and scholarships.
5. Tell real student stories through videos
Numbers are important, but stories make the impact real.
Short videos featuring college or university students explaining how to apply for funding and how aid has impacted their education are dynamic, narrative-driven techniques to illustrate real-world experience.
They reassure families that support is possible, and within reach.
Oxford University’s "Applying for funding at Oxford" video shows several Oxford scholarship students discussing various funding types, advice on what you should do and expect throughout the process, and their experiences on what they’re able to accomplish at Oxford with their respective scholarships.
Oxford University’s "Applying for funding at Oxford" YouTube video discusses applying for funding, what students should do at various times (from September to June), and what can be accomplished with funding
Marketing teams can use student stories to strengthen credibility. They humanize what can feel like a dry or stressful topic.
6. Build a searchable funding database
Families don’t want to wade through static PDF lists of scholarships—they want tools that help them filter by criteria that matter.
It can be challenging for students to research and uncover all the scholarships, bursaries, and awards they may be eligible for.
A flexible and searchable funding database, located prominently in the financial aid section of your website, can showcase the full range of opportunities while making it easy for students to see what applies to them.
The University of British Columbia's (UBC) "UBC Award Search" is an easy-to-use tool that helps students discover various financial support options, including awards, bursaries, fellowships, medals, prizes, and scholarships.
Containing hundreds of awards, the database can be searched and filtered using various criteria, allowing students to discover available merit-based scholarships and need-based bursaries.
The University of British Columbia's "UBC Award Search" database lists all available awards and can be filtered by various criteria, including faculty, department, degree, and award type
In terms of branding, this demonstrates generosity and transparency. It shows that your institution isn’t just offering aid—it’s actively helping students find it.
7. Host live webinars to answer questions
Live online information webinars, centered around tuition and financial aid, are the next best thing to a one-on-one consultation.
They give families a chance to ask questions, hear directly from experts, and feel personally supported.
These highly focused webinars are incredible time-savers both for families and for your college or university, giving you the chance to reach many prospective students at once.
The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) offers live, interactive "Financial Solutions Webinars" to inform students about the financial aid process and answer questions in real-time.
The University of Maryland Global Campus offers live financial aid webinars every month where students can get an informative introduction to financial aid and interact with financial solutions advisors
Webinars also serve a dual marketing purpose: they’re a recruitment tool (building trust and engagement) and a retention tool (helping admitted students feel confident enough to enroll).
Clarity paves the way forward
Colleges and universities have an opportunity to turn one of the biggest student anxieties—cost—into a point of strength.
By making tuition and financial aid information easy to find, clear to understand, and supported with tools and stories, you’re not just providing information. You’re building trust.
And in the competitive higher ed landscape that we live in, trust is one of your most powerful marketing assets.
How are you helping prospective students understand and navigate the tuition and financial aid process? Share your stories with us!